1. Field of the Invention
The present invention related to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
2. Description of the Related Art
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) include micro mechanical elements, actuators, and electronics. Micromechanical elements may be created using deposition, etching, and/or other micromachining processes that etch away parts of substrates and/or deposited material layers or that add layers to form electrical and electromechanical devices. One type of MEMS device is called an interferometric modulator (“IMOD”). As used herein, the term interferometric modulator, interferometric light modulator, or IMOD refers to a device that selectively absorbs and/or reflects light using the principles of optical interference. In certain embodiments, an interferometric modulator may comprise a pair of conductive plates, one or both of which may be transparent and/or reflective in whole or part and capable of relative motion upon application of an appropriate electrical signal. In a particular embodiment, one plate may comprise a stationary layer deposited on a substrate and the other plate may comprise a metallic membrane separated from the stationary layer by an air gap. As described herein in more detail, the position of one plate in relation to another can change the optical interference of light incident on the interferometric modulator.
IMODs can be arranged in addressable arrays to create active displays. Similarly, other MEMS and non-MEMS technologies, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), including organic LEDS (OLEDs), electrophoretic, and field emission displays (FEDs) are all employed as active displays for television, computer monitor, cell phone, or personal digital assistant (PDA) screens, etc. Such devices have a wide range of applications, and it would be beneficial in the art to utilize and/or modify the characteristics of these types of devices so that their features can be exploited in improving existing products and creating new products that have not yet been developed.